


Sleeping Soundly

by mercwithamouth



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Nightmares, Tony Stark Has Nightmares, bucky is always there for him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-10-29 22:58:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10863843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercwithamouth/pseuds/mercwithamouth
Summary: After nights of Tony waking up dazed and panicked, Bucky has learned what to do and more importantly what not to do. These nights, Bucky and Jarvis help keep the nightmares away as best they can.





	1. Chapter 1

     Covered in sweat, Tony sits up heaving heavy breaths. Naturally, Bucky is awoken as well, years of war torn memories and torture has rudely taken deep REM sleep from him. As he glances at Tony, his eyes narrow. He reaches carefully over to remove the blankets that are tangled around him and turns on the lamp. Tony says nothing, but to Bucky he’s said everything. During nights like these, Tony only needs quiet and comfort from afar. Bucky made the mistake of touching Tony before he was ready. Wild eyes met him as he grabbed at everything but Bucky’s hand on his shoulder.

     “Jarvis, please,” Bucky whispers, nodding to the ceiling. Lights start to brighten to only a faint dim.

     “Sir, it is Thursday, May 11th, 2016. You are currently in Stark Towers in Manhattan, New York. The weather is cold and breezy, with a high of 68 degrees and a low of 50 degrees. Mister Barnes is to your left and he is currently watching over your safety. The elevator is on lockdown. You are safe, sir,” Jarvis says.

     ‘For a robot,’ Bucky thinks, ‘there is a lot of unspoken emotion.’ He shakes his head to dismiss the thought. The sudden burst of information seems to bring him from where he was. Stuck, still, they both sit quietly. Tony stares straight ahead, but Bucky trades glances with the door and the sweaty man beside him.

     Finally, after a few minutes more, Tony lets out a soft sob. Bucky embraces Tony immediately, the shaking of his shoulders against his chest upsets Bucky. Out of habit, he checks Tony’s pulse. ‘It’s much too high,’ he thinks.

     Unwrapping himself from the embrace, Bucky fills a cup with tepid water. He offers it to Tony. Although he doesn’t get any response further than parting his lips slightly, Bucky pours little amounts for him to sip. Bucky knows what Tony is feeling right now. The tension in his upper back and torso speaks volumes.

     “If I may,” Jarvis starts. Bucky nods for Jarvis to continue and he does, “I would suggest taking Sir to his lab after he comes around.”

     Bucky raises a hand to the ceiling in gratitude. How had he not thought of it sooner, his projects. Resting his forehead on Tony’s back, he softly whispers, “I thought you stopped working on that one.” He shakes his head, tracing cursive words against his back in Russian.

     “I’m not trying to say ‘I told you so,’ but, I did tell you so,” he whispers lightheartedly. Tony’s heart beat drops to a more stable rate. Taking a deep breath mentally, he continues, “I did think to sit with you. But, I think they made that saying ‘bull in a china shop’ about me in your lab,” both chuckle, although Bucky’s is louder.

     Tony lets out a deep breath he forgot he was holding. Slowly, his muscles start to relax, letting the painful tension out of his body. He stumbles to get out of the bed, sloppily getting to his feet before Bucky rushes to his side to stable him.

     They hobble to Tony’s lab together. Bucky lets go of Tony once they make it through the large glass doors. The tables are a mess, but the pristine white color shines through.

     “Jesus, Tony. You’ve got to clean this place. I’m pretty sure this has some code violations somewhere, right?” Bucky starts.

     Jarvis happily chimes in, “Yes, sir has fifty two violations because of the recent clutter accumulation. Although the bots and I have tried, sir refuses to clean it.”

     Tony shoots daggers up at the ceiling, “remind me to remove lines 9,490-12,428 that describe ‘tattle tale behaviors.’”

     “Duly noted, sir,” comes a response with so much sass, the smirk was certainly audible forty miles away. Barnes chuckles to himself as he listens to the two bicker back and forth. The color returns slowly to Tony’s cheeks, to Bucky’s relief.

     Between Let There Be Rock blaring in the background and Tony affectionately tapping his pen on his light table, Bucky knows the nightmares are fought off for now.

 


	2. Butterfly Touches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long night in the lab, Tony remembers his childhood escape and longs for it. Bucky saves the day, once again.

     Ever since Tony was a child, he had this fantasy place he would go to. Perhaps it was created to help him escape what was happening to him. Or, maybe, it was his Mind’s Eye telling him there was a place where he could go to be safe. 

     Whatever it may be, Tony loved this place. The small shrubs and flowering bushes led the way to a sunlit table. Of course, Jarvis would be there serving tea and finger cakes. The table would have blushing pink petals, and there would be trees shading them. 

     His father would never know of this place, nor his mother. But, Jarvis would be there always. His father never went out to the countryside, even when he had many houses out there. It was only a namesake, so the family was worth millions more. But, to little Tony, it was a paradise. 

     As far as he looks there are fruit trees and flowering trees. On top of a hill, a path lay winding through trees and bushes, offering solace. At the end of the path, there was a small cottage. It looked plain on the inside, and perhaps to some it was. Tony only thought highly of this place. None of his other houses, regardless of expense, would ever fit the standards this place met. 

     In this world, there was no hurt, no misery. Certainly, there was no heartache. Tony could just be free of all the things that weighed him down. 

     Tony couldn’t get there himself. He also couldn’t make himself pretend he was there. This place only came around in times of sadness and despair. This was the only bad thing about the place. Should he need to imagine it, he would not be able to unless he was in extreme duress. 

     JARVIS woke him from his trance, alerting him Bucky was there. As Bucky let himself in, he was unable to follow his conversation. Tony didn’t mean to, he simply could not focus on his words. Tony would just agree to agree, and disagree should Bucky shake his head. 

     It was an easy game to play with most, but, Bucky wasn’t buying it. 

     “How much have you been sleeping, Tony?” Bucky asked, his face was consumed with concern. 

     “I’ve gotten enough,” Tony says, wiping liquid from his hands onto his jeans. Bucky’s eyes widen immediately. All Tony has time to do is look down to his jeans before he is taken into Bucky’s arms. He has no fight in him, even if he wanted to. Bucky only offers quiet conversation and butterfly touches. Tony melts into each one. By the time Bucky gets both of them to Tony’s room in the Penthouse, he is all but carrying the other. 

     “Alright, I’ve got to get you into something more comfortable, then tend to what you’ve done to yourself,” Bucky says gently, his eyes stern.

     “It’s not worth it,” Tony slurs. Bucky is taken aback by the fear and hurt emulating from Tony. After years of conditioning, he knows not to press the matter at this point. 

     “Sure, it’s not to you. But, to me Tony, it’s worth the world.” Tony does nothing but roll his eyes and shrug. After leading him up to bed, Tony is left with his thoughts and they consumed him. The micro-expressions that splashed across his face betrayed everything he was hiding. 

     Jesus Christ, all he wants is to go back to that cottage. He’s sure it’s been kept nicely and he is certain that Jarvis’ favorite kettle is on the stove where he left it. But, he wonders if it will be too painful to go back there. Sure, he has developed a sense of acceptance, but it still stings to remember such vivid detail of life before. 

     Bucky says nothing, only dressing him and tending to his wounds humming as he does. Tony is more grateful than Bucky realizes. Sure, he might have an idea, but nothing compared to the overwhelming sense of love and adoration for the man that Tony feels. He is sure that Bucky will never be able to know because of the grandiose nature of it.

     Finally, Bucky moved him into bed. Tony put up no fight, he didn’t need or want to. For right now, he only wants to swallow his pride and let him take care of Tony. 

     With butterfly touches, Tony felt the softest kiss on his cheek bone as he hit the pillow. Tony doesn’t let go of Bucky’s hand, he doesn’t want to have to leave the warm embrace of comfort and walk into the cold dreams that were surely waiting for him. Bucky didn’t argue, he tucked himself around Tony's smaller figure before stroking his hand against Tony’s arm. If it was possible to purr, Bucky is sure that Tony would be. 

     If Nat told him it was possible, he could simply tell her the Theory of Simultaneity would explain that he couldn’t be getting good sleep now or ever. But, that could wait for tomorrow. Tony allows all things to go as he sleeps, everything slips from his face as his furrowed eyebrows rest into a pleased smile. For the first time in too long, Tony melted into dreams and did not stir in the slightest through the night.  

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyy back at it again with another chapter. I wasn't sure if I was going to turn this into a series. But, I think I'm just going to have this be unconditional fluff that works with Phaethon for the most part. I'm not dead, It's simply finals week. Feel free to shout at me in the comments! I look forward to reading them! See you all soon.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm new to writing, but I've read so many works on here. I might do more, but I'm not sure. They should get better as I go along


End file.
